Marine suicides up

SAN DIEGO - More Marines are committing suicide than at any time
since the Corps started monitoring such deaths, prompting the
government to step up intervention efforts, it was reported
Tuesday.

This year, there have been 32 confirmed or probable Marine
suicides, at least six of which involving Camp Pendleton Marines,
military officials told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Three killed
themselves in Kuwait or Iraq, and three in San Diego.

The previous record was 28 suicides in 2001, when the United
States invaded Afghanistan, Marine officials told the newspaper.
The Marine Corps started keeping record of suicides in 1999.

Marine officials told the Union-Tribune that the challenges of
preparing for deployment to Iraq, the stress of combat and the
difficulties of returning to postwar life drove up the suicide
numbers.

To encourage more service members to seek professional
counseling, the Defense Department has beefed up its mental health
units overseas, the newspaper reported. It has also hired an
outside provider to promote counseling services in the United
States that offer greater privacy than on- base consultations.